Media Releases

Media Release: 3rd Conference of the Judicial Insolvency Network on 5 April 2019

MEDIA RELEASE

3rd Conference of the Judicial Insolvency Network on 5 April 2019

14 May 2019 –The Judicial Insolvency Network (“JIN”) met in Singapore on 5
April 2019. This was the 3rd conference of the JIN, following the 1st
conference also in Singapore on 10 and 11 October 2016 and the 2nd
conference in New York City on 22 and 23 September 2018.

2 The conference discussed the four projects which the JIN initiated at the
2nd conference. They relate to: (i) core principles on recognition of
foreign insolvency proceedings and judgments; (ii) modalities of
court-to-court communication; (iii) guidelines when maritime law and
insolvency law intersect, especially the arrest of ships and Articles 19,
20 and 21 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency; and (iv)
identification of insolvency disputes which parties should consider sending
for alternative dispute resolution.

3 Members of the JIN who attended the conference comprised judges from the
following courts:

(i) the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
York;

(ii) the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware;

(iii) the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands;

(iv) the Supreme Court of Bermuda;

(v) the Court of Appeal of England and Wales;

(vi) the Federal Court of Australia;

(vii) the Supreme Court of New South Wales;

(viii) the Seoul Bankruptcy Court; and

(ix) the Supreme Court of Singapore.

4 The four projects have made progress. In particular, there was detailed
discussion on the modalities of court-to-court communication in insolvency
proceedings resulting in a draft being prepared for circulation to the
various JIN members for comment (the “Modalities”). Unlike the Guidelines for Communication and Cooperation between Courts in
Cross-Border Insolvency Matters (the “Guidelines”) issued by the JIN in
October 2016, which focus on the principles governing how courts should
communicate with one another, the Modalities focus on the mechanics of
court-to-court communication. These include how a court may initiate
communication with another court, the arrangements as to the time, method
and language of communication, and the designation of a facilitator for
this purpose. Akin to a checklist, the Modalities seek to distil the basic
administrative issues a court may wish to address in advance in relation to
court-to-court communication, bearing in mind the time, language and
cultural differences that underpin much of cross-border communication. It
is expected that the JIN will issue the Modalities later this year. The JIN
hopes that the Modalities will receive the same positive reception as the
Guidelines have.

5 Members at this JIN meeting also welcomed the adoption of the Guidelines
by the District Court Midden-Nederland (the Netherlands), which is the
second European court to adopt the Guidelines. The Chancery Division of the
High Court of England & Wales adopted the Guidelines on 5 May 2017. The
adoption by the District Court Midden-Nederland is published on its
website,
https://www.rechtspraak.nl/English/Pages/International-Insolvency.aspx.